Australia is one of the world’s major energy producers. It is a net energy exporter and coal is one of its largest export commodities. Renewable energy is an essential part of Australia’s low emissions energy mix and is important to Australia’s energy security. Australian Government support for renewable energy assists industry development, reduces barriers to the national electricity market, and provides community access to renewable energy.

Renewable Energy Company Base

Australia has a renewable energy industry base that predominantly delivers hydroelectricity into the national market. Australian government promotes the renewable energy source of hydrogen throughout Australia. The government aims to educate younger generation about the coming of hydrogen economy and promote this innovative use of renewable fuels in a way that is relevant to local environment.

This strong industry base provided the springboard for the delivery of new projects (including efficiency gains and refurbishment to existing infrastructure). The availability of biomass also enabled a range of generation projects to be developed at relatively small scales, which became viable with the incentives provided by the government.

Limitations On Renewable Energy Companies

Australia has a relatively small population and the development of other renewable energy technologies can only be commercialized at low quantity. This has become a barrier to market entry as the prices of new technology would not be competitive with existing technologies. Despite these limitations, there have been some renewable energy manufacturing successes, especially in the area of solar development and manufacturing plants.

Australia has one of the world’s best natural conditions for renewable energy production. Over the years Australia has nurtured some of the strongest intellectual capital in the field of renewable energy. However, the renewable energy industry has yet to turn good ideas into successful businesses. The opportunity remains to create the right policy and business context to support competitiveness and growth for the renewable energy companies.

Funds And Ventures On Renewable Energy Companies

Renewable energy companies need the establishment of a technology-neutral policy playing field to facilitate even competition between new renewable energy and fossil fuels. There is also strong need of increased private and public sector financial support for the commercialization and deployment of Australian renewable energy companies. Enhanced linkages between innovation and commercialization have to be established, with clear paths from invention to funding to commercialization.

Low Cost Renewable Energy

Technologies and concepts geothermal energy are not new. Geothermal energy uses proven binary power plants and proven drilling techniques used everyday in the mining industry. This allows geothermal energy to be made available on large scale at very short time. As one of the renewable energy, geothermal energy is cheaper than wind with lowest infrastructure costs. A scaled up plant is estimated to produce power at a cost as low as $40 per megawatt. With zero carbon emission, geothermal renewable energy source is the fiercest rival to conventional fossil fuels.

Traditionally the most dangerous part of a geothermal energy project is the installation of underground heat exchanger. Advancement in mining technology has allowed the installation of underground heat exchanger with minimum risk. Engineers are now able to install huge heat exchanger with maximum safety.

Creative Approach To Exploring Geothermal Energy

Instead of focusing on obtaining the highest temperatures, some companies are aiming to find hot dry rock at a depth less than 3.5 kilometers. Finding hot dry rock close to established infrastructure will save the cost substantially as compared to deep drilling to run transmission lines.

While many of the cavities start out with superheated water under pressure that is then replenished with groundwater, another option is to add water. Instead of diverting valuable water to simply be turned into steam, one creative way is to use the otherwise unusable sewage water. As soon as the sewerage water comes into contact with the super heated rocks, any bacteria that might be lingering around are instantly roasted. This highly sustainable practice allows the shaft cavities to be filled up with water again while getting rid of effluent.

Urgency of Replacement Energy

As populations in the less developed world expanded their demands for energy, the demand on energy resources will exceed world supply within short span of time. To keep energy cheap and affordable for poorer nations who are moving into fast track, development and deployment of replacement energy must take place in the quickest possible pace.

Alternative Fusion Power

Since the beginning of the “atomic era” in the late 1940s, everyone has known about the massive potential power of fission reactions. This is what happens when an unstable element, such as radioactive or “heavy” uranium, is brought to critical mass and begins to exhibit a chain reaction. This nuclear energy can then be used to create steam and run turbines, among other things. Unfortunately the remaining waste product is plenty radioactive for thousands of years and must be disposed of at great bother and expense.

Another option is the one we are familiar with every day as the solar furnace. Light and heat from the sun is the result of a massive fusion reaction that crams hydrogen together until it forms helium, releasing massive amounts of energy in the process. Solar power is now a dream for many scientists come true. For years scientists have researched for ways to utilize this far more powerful force of physics to generate plenty of power. There is also no waste product from solar, as the energy process only produces gas which is useful with party balloons and lighter than air craft.